OPED: INNOVATION AND PARTNERSHIPS KEY TO BOLSTER RISK COMMUNICATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

As COVID-19 cases rise again and a new but familiar fear rages, it is clear that Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) is the cornerstone of pandemic response. Stepping up communication strategies, innovation at local levels and partnerships for RCCE will be crucial to ensure that in 2022 vaccines reach the most marginalized and COVID Appropriate Behaviours (CAB) are consistently reinforced. Over the last two years we have achieved much with more than 250 million reached and engaged; it is important to ensure we do not lose the gains made. Year 2021 showed some innovative best practices for vaccination coverage that can be scaled up. For example, in Maharashtra, an initiative in collaboration with Kolhapur Municipal Corporation addressed the issue of low vaccine uptake in urban slums. The challenge of internet access, digital divide and vaccine hesitancy fuelled by misinformation was addressed by digital mapping of households and community mobilization. Vaccination camps were held within the slums to make the service easily accessible to slum dwellers. In Mizoram, a campaign focused on an ethnic group with communication material in local languages and social mobilisation helped dispel myths around vaccination. UNICEF has supported COVID-19 vaccination in five districts of the state. Communication materials promoting CAB, dispelling myths, and increasing demand for vaccines in local languages were developed and disseminated. Pastors and tribal leaders were involved in a unified response to the pandemic. Folk media including music and street theatre in regional languages are powerful tools for spreading messages to the masses. In Tamil Nadu, a foot-tapping music video helped allay fears while in Mumbai, street theatre was used to effectively engage people in CAB messaging and allaying fears around vaccination.

Over the last two years, risk communication and community engagement strategies have drawn learning lessons from the polio campaign. The intensive mobilization strategy used for polio was

effectively applied to ensure high coverage of COVID-19 vaccination.

These include door-to-door mobilization in vulnerable areas and use of community influencers such as faith leaders to encourage people to vaccinate. In Uttar Pradesh, the cluster approach vaccination in select areas, including use of award winning puppetry for behaviour change has been effective. Gender and equity focus is crucial to ensure vaccines reach the most marginalized. In Malkanagiri district in Odisha, volunteers supported by UNICEF visited a village cut off from the mainland as it is inside a reservoir on boats. They went house to house ensuring that the community has accurate information regarding the vaccine. More than 200 people were mobilized, with a majority being vaccinated. In Kalahandi district, where roads are poor and the terrain is hilly, social mobilisers are reaching villages inside forest areas. Reaching the proverbial last mile has ensured communities living in remote areas have access to the vaccine. Partnerships are vital for behaviour change, as is scale. In July 2021, UNICEF forged a partnership with TRIFED (Tribal Co-operative Marketing Development Federation of India) under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, for a communication campaign targeting 5 million people across remote tribal communities with key messages on COVID-19 vaccination. There are 705 Scheduled Tribes (STs) in India spread over 30 States and union territories. Poor geographical access as well as limited access to mass media are key challenges in reaching tribal communities. The campaign launched to promote COVID-19 vaccines among tribal communities leveraged the network of Self Help Groups and common touch points such as Common Service Centres, fertilizers outlet centres, Haats and Bazaars to promote vaccine uptake and COVID Appropriate Behaviours. Involving traditional leaders and faith-based healers to promote adoption of COVID-19 vaccines has proved to be an effective approach. PRIs or Panchayati Raj Institutions have been engaged across states. Self Help Groups have ensured messaging not only reaches but also engages rural women. In Sirohi district of Rajasthan, social mobilisers say getting rural women to vaccinate is more difficult as they are often away working in the fields and on NREGA sites. Door to door visits and collective efforts of local NGOs, frontline workers and panchayat members have helped overcome resistance. In some cases, women who were initially resistant are now fully vaccinated and motivate other women in the community to vaccinate. Engaging with the community in their own language/ dialect has helped build trust. Visually-led communication materials developed specially for specific communities complemented by community mobilisers has ensured they relate to the messaging. Clearly, messaging needs to be contextualized and relevant to local needs. In Mizoram, communication materials were prepared for specific vulnerable groups such as children. The state recorded some of the highest numbers of infections among children and young people. Elsewhere, in Giridih tribal district of Jharkhand, locally recruited social mobilisers and use of communication material in Santhali language helped reverse the mass refusal of the vaccine due to misconceptions surrounding its adverse effects.

All of this would not be possible without the strategic leadership of the Government of India and its state bodies, partnerships through various bodies such as the SBCC Alliance, private sector, National RCCE working group and the generous contributions of USAID, Gates Foundation, GAVI and ADB. Moving forward in 2022, as vaccination opens for the teenagers, youth will have a critical role to play in dispelling myths and addressing vaccine hesitancy among their peers. Youth volunteer campaigns such as RokoToko and Yuvodaya in Chhattisgarh and Mai Corona Volunteer in Madhya Pradesh in partnership with Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports have ensured youth engagement for pandemic response at scale. Harnessing the energy of youth will be crucial for sustainable change in communities.

The journey continues !

More articles here: Behaviour Change Matters (mailchi.mp)